It's a whole new name for the Schuylkill Valley, Berks Catholic

The names have practically all changed since Schuylkill Valley's terrific back-and-forth 27-23 battle with Holy Name in a league opener a year ago.

The key players, the name of one of the schools - even the name of the league - are all different now, but to the coaches, Jeff Chillot and Rick Keeley, the foe still looks familiar.

"We're definitely looking at it like a key game," said Chillot, Schuylkill Valley's coach. "Holy Name won the section last year, and even though it's Berks Catholic now, we kind of look at it like they're the champions.

"For us to move up, to be taken seriously in the section, we have to knock off the team ahead of us, and this is our first chance to do that. We look at it as an opportunity to knock off a very good program and a team that's been there before."

Keeley, the former Holy Name coach who now runs the first-year Berks Catholic program, views this Berks Football League Section 2 matchup in the same manner.

It's pretty much a given that powerful Wyomissing is the team to beat in Section 2. To have a shot to topple the Spartans come season's end the Saints will need to win all their games leading up to it.

"If we want to be in position to play an important game at the end of the year, we've got to get this one." Keeley said. "And that's not a small order."

Indeed, the Panthers (2-1) may have lost a ton of offense with the graduation of 1,000-yard runners Derek Gaul and Dylan Scheidt. but the effective Spread offense remains intact, as does Schuylkill Valley's ability to run it effectively.

Quarterback Kyle Beissel and halfbacks Eryk Cerankowski and Ryan Mathews have stepped into the void and continued to put up big numbers. The Panthers remain the league's most productive offense, as they have been for the past two seasons.

"Last year it was Gaul and Scheidt," Keeley said. "That was a pretty good 1-2 punch. Now it's No. 21 (Matthews) and No. 23 (Cerankowski). They are two quick, fast kids that were made for this offense. They get through the hole in a hurry.

"They're not the type that are gonna run you over, but they make you miss, and when they get 'em up through the line and then break to outside, they have the speed to go the distance."

Matthews is averaging 12.4 yards per carry and has four TDs; Cerankowski is averaging 10.9, with six TDs.

"The quarterback is very good at executing the offense, faking and making the read," Keeley said. "Sometimes when he keeps it, he can get you 15 or 20 yards."

The Saints have been slowed by injuries and inconsistency on the defensive side and didn't get their first win until last week when they hammered Upper Dauphin 47-0.

They haven't established the "name" players who helped the Blue Jays score a last-minute TD to beat Schuylkill Valley last year, but Chillot is still wary of them.

He believes that Holy Name's tradition has carried over even if the nickname and colors are now new and the roster includes players from Central Catholic.

"I'm looking forward to seeing how we stack up against one of the better teams in our section," Chillot said. "We're going to use it as a measuring stick."